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Isis, Syria and James Foley’s untold story

A new documentary, directed by Foley’s schoolmate, paints an intimate portrait of the murdered war reporter

Barbara McMahon

August 31 2016, 12:01am, The Times

Millions of people saw the recorded scene of James Foley being beheaded. He had been held for two years by extremist militantsNicole Tung

In 2012, after months of reporting from inside war-torn Syria, the photojournalist James Foley was abducted by extremist militants. He was held for two years before being taken by his captors to an anonymous stretch of desert. Millions of people around the world know what happened next because they saw the gruesome scene on videotape. Foley, clad in an orange jumpsuit and forced to recite Isis propaganda, was made to kneel beside a hooded executioner before he was beheaded.

Those last moments of Foley’s life prompted Brian Oakes to make a documentary about his childhood friend, which is being released in cinemas on Friday. Oakes made the film, he says, because he did not want this to be the last image most people have of…